Matt Cardona says he earned so much on the independent wrestling scene that returning to WWE meant taking a pay cut.

Speaking to Jeremy Jacobowitz, the former Zack Ryder explained how rebuilding his career outside WWE gave him financial success and a fresh identity. Rather than relying on his past, Cardona wanted to give fans something different.

“I see what happens when people leave WWE. You could fade into obscurity, which I wasn’t going to do. You can, you know, just be bitter, negative, and fade into obscurity, or you can just coast off your WWE name forever.

“And I don’t mean the literal name, like Honky Tonk Man still doing the Shake, Rattle, and Roll, the jump. And I love that, and it’s great, and I love Honky, but I didn’t want to still do the ‘Woo Woo Woo’ on the indies. I wanted to create something new. And that was what I decided: Okay, I’m going to reinvent myself, and I’m going to change the Matt Cardona game.”

Getting back to WWE was part of Cardona’s thinking, but he said his success did not depend on receiving that call. His independent run became so profitable that he was earning more than he had during his previous WWE career.

“You know, I’m going to reinvent myself in a way that, yeah, hopefully WWE wants me back. But if they don’t, that’s fine. And, you know, I made more money outside WWE than I ever made in WWE. Like, I technically took a pay cut to go back to WWE. You know what I’m saying? That’s how much money I was making on the indies.”

Despite the initial drop in earnings, Cardona sees his return as an investment in what could come next. He pointed to the interview itself as an example of the opportunities WWE can provide.

“But WWE coming back with this is the ultimate opportunity, because if it works out, it’ll be the ultimate raise, right? Like, I’m sitting here talking to you because WWE set this up.”